Biography
I am a Research & Teaching Associate in Systems & Control at the University of Sheffield in the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering where I am part of the Space Instrumentation Lab. I obtained a Masters of Engineering (1st Class Honours, 4.0 GPA) in Aerospace Engineering with a Year in Industry, where I worked as an Automation Engineer and Robotics deployment specialist. I received my doctorate (PhD) in 2025, where I worked in partnership with Airbus to build autonomous systems for robotics.
My current research is focused around using learning-based methods for planning and control, with applications in manufacturing, space systems and robotics. I am interested in applications involving control theory, game theory, physics and reinforcement learning to build autonomous agents that can make decisions in uncertain environments, whilst also being able to estimate the dynamics of a system accurately with distributed sensing.
I am one of the co-leads of the Robotics & Autonomous Manufacturing Systems Lab (RAMS Lab) where my research is focused on robust control for manipulation and I lead teams on students on projects ranging from autonomous manipulation, robot control and computer vision. I co-lead the Applied & Theoretical Metamaterials Lab (ATM Lab).
- Space Systems
- Machine Learning
- Control Theory
- Game Theory
- Differential Geometry
PhD in Systems & Control, 2021-2025
School of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering, University of Sheffield
MEng Aerospace Engineering w/ Year In Industry, 2016-2021
Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Sheffield
Experience
Working as a research & teaching associate in systems and control. Part of the Space Instrumentation Lab (SIL).
- Supervising multiple students in fields such as computer vision for manufacturing, dynamics estimation for in-orbit operations and large structure assembly
- Research looks at physics-informed modelling and analysis of space plasma, theory and application of metamaterials, and robot control
Working as a research associate in systems and control. Part of the Digital Manufacturing Group (DMG), where I work at the intersection of several projects.
- Supervising multiple students in fields such as computer vision for manufacturing, dynamics estimation for in-orbit operations and large structure assembly
- Research looks at physics-informed planning and control within complex systems such as manufacturing processes and robotics
- Research interests include differential geometry, optimal transport, control-theoretic methods for robotics and applied physics & optimization
Working as a GTA during PhD studies, acquiring Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Modules include:
- First year MATLAB teaching and help with lab sessions
- Embedded system programming and software design
- Optimal control methods for aerospace applications
- Group project work on reinforcement learning for legged robots and final year aerospace engineers
Responsibilities included:
- Developing autonomous manipulation methods for semiconductor manufacturing
- Using machine learning for prediction of parts failure during assembly
- Deploying a variety of robotic platforms including mobile robots, manipulators and CNC machines
Accomplishments
Gallery
A collection of images across my various travels
Recent Publications
Recent & Upcoming Talks
Contact
If you want to collaborate or have questions about my research, please feel free to reach out. You can send me an email or reach out to me on Twitter/X.
- e.a.canzini@sheffield.ac.uk
- Sir Frederick Mappin Building, Mappin Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 3JD
- DM Me